Adidas introduces human billboards

[Tokyo] Adidas is drawing crowds in Japan with a human billboard with two people playing brief soccer matches throughout the day. In trendy retail areas around Japan's two largest cities, Tokyo and Osaka, two players and a ball are suspended by ropes 12 stories above the ground, playing soccer at a 90-degree angle to the vertical soccer field displayed behind them as a giant billboard. A headline reads: "Own the passion and you own the game." At each billboard site, the two dangling humans play 10-to-15-minute matches that start at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., weather-permitting, most days of the week as passersby gather below to watch. The attention-grabbing initiative was developed by Omnicom Group's TBWA Worldwide, Tokyo. Adidas has lined up more outdoor stunts in Japan to celebrate the start of soccer season. Omote-sando Boulevard, known as the Champs-Elysees of Toyko, was transformed into a 250-meter "sonic hedge" starting in late August. The ground-level living wall is made of a variety of growing plants and grasses. The space showcases a gallery of soccer-related messages.